The final out of the Titans' 11-2 victory over Louisville in the Super Regional, sending Fullerton to Omaha for the 16th time:
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Daniel Renken's 3-Pitch Inning
Withe the Titans up, 3-0, in the third inning, starter Daniel Renken needed just three pitches to dispatch Louisville in Fullerton's eventual 12-0 win in Game 1 of the Super Regional.
Post-Game Interviews (Fullerton Super Regional)
Titans coach Dave Serrano and players talk about their 12-0 victory over Louisville in Game 1 of the Fullerton Super Regional:
Friday, June 5, 2009
Taste of Victory
We have unearthed a good deal of Fullerton baseball highlights from over the years, including rare championship footage from 1979 and 1984 teams, as well as highlights from recent years. They will be featured here throughout the postseason.
To whet your appetite, here's the final outs of the Titans' dramatic regional victory over UCLA from 2008:
To whet your appetite, here's the final outs of the Titans' dramatic regional victory over UCLA from 2008:
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Fullerton Super Regional Preview
By FullertonBaseballFan
(Courtesy Titan Central)
Louisville Cardinals
Overall Record – 47-16
Conference Record – 19-7 (1st place)
RPI/ISR/SOS – 16/24/89
Record against regional teams – 8-5
How they qualified for a regional – Won the Big East Conference Tournament (Cincinnati 12-2, Notre Dame 12-2, 5-6, 7-6, UConn 11-3)
How they qualified for a super regional – Won the Louisville Regional (Indiana 8-2, Middle Tennessee State 3-2, Vanderbilt 4-8, 5-3)
Season Summary
Louisville came into this season with high expectations after returning most of the team that went 41-21 in 2008 and was the runner-up in the Georgia Regional in a rebuilding year after going to the College World Series in 2007. The Cardinals were ranked in the top 25 in every major pre-season poll before going on the road to Florida to start the season and were swept in a three game series in Gainesville. Louisville took advantage of a soft schedule to rebound from that series to go 28-8 before losing a home series to Notre Dame. That series was a wakeup call for the Cardinals because they have gone on an 18-3 streak heading into the super regional at Fullerton.
Louisville has a powerful offense that is in the top 30 in the country in both scoring and HR’s but they aren’t just a station to station team. The Cardinals are also in the top 40 in the nation in SB’s and have five players with 12+ SB’s. Louisville has a field turf playing surface so they used their good team speed to their advantage to go 27-7 at home. The Cardinals don’t bunt much unless it is an obvious situation with one of their lesser hitters and most of them will be aggressive and come out swinging, although the do have solid plate discipline and average about 4 BB’s per game and are in the top 10 in the country in HBP’s.
Louisville is a balanced team because they also have a solid pitching staff led by one of the better Fri SP’s in the country. The Cardinals have a deep pitching staff and have nine pitchers that they can rely on to be productive. Louisville is in the top 20 nationally in ERA, H/9 IP and BB/9 IP and in the top 40 in K/9 IP. The Cardinals are 33-2 when leading after 7 innings and 37-1 when leading after 8 innings.
Offense
Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 96 (decreases offense by 4%). Standard dimensions, field turf helps infielders.
Batting Average – .312 (NCAA ranking - 94)
Runs Per Game – 8.3 (29)
Home Runs – 83 (28)
Stolen Bases – 90 (40)
Slugging Percentage – .490 (52)
Walks – 256 (59)
HBP’s – 104 (10)
Sac Bunts – 30 (162)
Batting Order
LF – Soph Josh Richmond (RH – .316-7-31-5). Went 6-16 with one HR and two 2B’s in the regional.
2B – JR Adam Duvall (RH – .335-11-31-12). One of the guys that makes their offense go. Ranked 3rd in the country with 83 R’s and in the top 40 with 17 HBP’s. .569 SLG %.
1B – JR Andrew Clark (LH – .356-9-55-1). 4th in the country with 82 R’s. 8th in the country with 54 BB’s. Team leader with .490 OBP. .576 SLG %.
3B – JR Chris Dominguez (RH – .348-23-80-19). Big East player of the year the last two seasons. Ranked in the top ten nationally in HR’s, RBI’s, R’s and total bases. Team leading .715 SLG %. 4th round pick in 2008 draft and likely to go higher next week.
DH – Soph Phil Wunderlich (LH – .372-18-78-4). Provides good protection in the lineup for Dominguez. Ranked in the top 40 nationally in HR’s, RBI’s, total bases and HBP’s. 2nd on team with .690 SLG %.
RF – FR Ryan Wright (RH – .336-5-66-12). Good run producer who had the key three run HR in the regional clinching win.
C – JR Jeff Arnold (RH – .251-3-32-13). 3rd on team in SB’s. In the lineup for his defense and handling of the pitching staff.
SS – SR John Dao (RH – .253-0-22-3). Key RBI triple in the regional clinching game. Hit .356 in 2008. In the lineup for his defense.
CF – Soph Drew Haynes (LH – .213-0-13-17). Leads team with 8 SAC bunts (had 15 SAC’s in 2008) and is 2nd on team in SB’s.
Defense
Fielding .969 (55) – 78 errors. Solid defensively up the middle with Dao and Duvall, who have combined for 20 E’s. Clark (7 E’s) and Dominguez (23 E’s) are big guys who have had issues on the corners. Haynes and Wright have good speed in the OF.
Double Plays – 58 (29). Solid middle infield is helped by playing on field turf.
Stolen Base Attempts – 40-57 against Arnold.
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 35, very good at blocking pitches.
Pitching
ERA – 4.14 (19)
BA – .290
HR – 57
H’s/9 IP – 8.9 (18)
BB’s/9 IP – 2.8 (14)
K’s/9 IP – 8.2 (32)
Starting Pitchers
JR Justin Marks (LHP – 11-2, 3.40 ERA, 17 apps, 15 starts, 1 save, 101 IP, 79 H, 32 BB, 125 K, .218 BA, 5 HR, 9 HBP, 2 WP). Big East Conf pitcher of the year. Projected to go in the first 3-4 rounds of the draft next week. School career leader in wins and strikeouts. Has a low 90’s fastball, curveball, slider and changeup and solid command of each. 8th in the country in K’s. 1.99 ERA in his last 23 IP with 31 K’s. 10-18 SB’s. Has picked off two runners.
Soph Dean Keikhefer (LHP – 6-4, 4.56 ERA, 17 apps, 12 starts, 73 IP, 87 H, 21 BB, 60 K, .300 BA, 3 HR, 13 HBP, 5 WP). Has been effective lately and allowed 3 R or less in each of his last three starts (3.05 ERA) against South Florida, Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee State in the regional. Leads the staff in HBP’s. 5-7 SB’s.
Soph Bob Revesz (LHP – 4-2, 4.48 ERA, 22 apps, 9 starts, 1 save, 60 IP, 73 H, 12 BB, 28 K, .300 BA, 4 HR, 4 HBP, 4 WP). Groundball pitcher who doesn’t throw hard and benefits from pitching his home games on the field turf. Has not gotten out of the fifth inning in four of his last five starts and could be replaced this weekend. 5-10 SB’s.
FR Tony Zych (RHP – 6-2, 3.25 ERA, 21 apps, 3 starts, 2 saves, 44 IP, 38 H, 10 BB, 31 K, .235 BA, 8 HR, 8 HBP, 4 WP). Midweek SP who has been very effective in two post-season starts – 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R allowed against UConn in the Big East tournament championship game and 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R against Vanderbilt in the regional clinching game. One of the harder throwers on the staff. Has had trouble with leaving the ball up and leads the staff in HR’s. 3-5 SB’s.
Relief Pitchers
Soph Gabriel Shaw (RHP – 3-1, 3.78 ERA, 28 apps, 3 saves, 50 IP, 46 H, 12 BB, 46 K, .245 BA, 7 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP). Part of a closer by committee, with all three saves coming in the last four weeks. Hard thrower and sometimes leaves the ball up and is 2nd on the staff in HR’s allowed.
FR Derek Self (RHP – 7-0, 3.25 ERA, 21 apps, 2 starts, 1 save, 44 IP, 42 H, 13 BB, 34 K, .249 BA, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 1 WP). Has been part of the committee finishing games. Able to throw several innings (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R against MTSU in the regional and 6 IP, 2 R against Cincinnati in the Big East tournament).
SR Gavin Logsdon (LHP – 2-0, 4.24 ERA, 28 apps, 1 save, 34 IP, 39 H, 9 BB, 30 K, .285 BA, 3 HR, 2 HBP, 1 WP).
Soph Neil Holland (RHP – 0-0, 3.68 ERA, 15 apps, 1 start, 1 save, 22 IP, 24 H, 10 BB, 24 K, .289 BA, 2 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP).
Soph Tyler Mathis (RHP – 1-3, 5.28 ERA, 13 apps, 2 starts, 29 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 28 K, .215 BA, 1 HR, 11 HBP, 1 WP).
(Courtesy Titan Central)
Louisville Cardinals
Overall Record – 47-16
Conference Record – 19-7 (1st place)
RPI/ISR/SOS – 16/24/89
Record against regional teams – 8-5
How they qualified for a regional – Won the Big East Conference Tournament (Cincinnati 12-2, Notre Dame 12-2, 5-6, 7-6, UConn 11-3)
How they qualified for a super regional – Won the Louisville Regional (Indiana 8-2, Middle Tennessee State 3-2, Vanderbilt 4-8, 5-3)
Season Summary
Louisville came into this season with high expectations after returning most of the team that went 41-21 in 2008 and was the runner-up in the Georgia Regional in a rebuilding year after going to the College World Series in 2007. The Cardinals were ranked in the top 25 in every major pre-season poll before going on the road to Florida to start the season and were swept in a three game series in Gainesville. Louisville took advantage of a soft schedule to rebound from that series to go 28-8 before losing a home series to Notre Dame. That series was a wakeup call for the Cardinals because they have gone on an 18-3 streak heading into the super regional at Fullerton.
Louisville has a powerful offense that is in the top 30 in the country in both scoring and HR’s but they aren’t just a station to station team. The Cardinals are also in the top 40 in the nation in SB’s and have five players with 12+ SB’s. Louisville has a field turf playing surface so they used their good team speed to their advantage to go 27-7 at home. The Cardinals don’t bunt much unless it is an obvious situation with one of their lesser hitters and most of them will be aggressive and come out swinging, although the do have solid plate discipline and average about 4 BB’s per game and are in the top 10 in the country in HBP’s.
Louisville is a balanced team because they also have a solid pitching staff led by one of the better Fri SP’s in the country. The Cardinals have a deep pitching staff and have nine pitchers that they can rely on to be productive. Louisville is in the top 20 nationally in ERA, H/9 IP and BB/9 IP and in the top 40 in K/9 IP. The Cardinals are 33-2 when leading after 7 innings and 37-1 when leading after 8 innings.
Offense
Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 96 (decreases offense by 4%). Standard dimensions, field turf helps infielders.
Batting Average – .312 (NCAA ranking - 94)
Runs Per Game – 8.3 (29)
Home Runs – 83 (28)
Stolen Bases – 90 (40)
Slugging Percentage – .490 (52)
Walks – 256 (59)
HBP’s – 104 (10)
Sac Bunts – 30 (162)
Batting Order
LF – Soph Josh Richmond (RH – .316-7-31-5). Went 6-16 with one HR and two 2B’s in the regional.
2B – JR Adam Duvall (RH – .335-11-31-12). One of the guys that makes their offense go. Ranked 3rd in the country with 83 R’s and in the top 40 with 17 HBP’s. .569 SLG %.
1B – JR Andrew Clark (LH – .356-9-55-1). 4th in the country with 82 R’s. 8th in the country with 54 BB’s. Team leader with .490 OBP. .576 SLG %.
3B – JR Chris Dominguez (RH – .348-23-80-19). Big East player of the year the last two seasons. Ranked in the top ten nationally in HR’s, RBI’s, R’s and total bases. Team leading .715 SLG %. 4th round pick in 2008 draft and likely to go higher next week.
DH – Soph Phil Wunderlich (LH – .372-18-78-4). Provides good protection in the lineup for Dominguez. Ranked in the top 40 nationally in HR’s, RBI’s, total bases and HBP’s. 2nd on team with .690 SLG %.
RF – FR Ryan Wright (RH – .336-5-66-12). Good run producer who had the key three run HR in the regional clinching win.
C – JR Jeff Arnold (RH – .251-3-32-13). 3rd on team in SB’s. In the lineup for his defense and handling of the pitching staff.
SS – SR John Dao (RH – .253-0-22-3). Key RBI triple in the regional clinching game. Hit .356 in 2008. In the lineup for his defense.
CF – Soph Drew Haynes (LH – .213-0-13-17). Leads team with 8 SAC bunts (had 15 SAC’s in 2008) and is 2nd on team in SB’s.
Defense
Fielding .969 (55) – 78 errors. Solid defensively up the middle with Dao and Duvall, who have combined for 20 E’s. Clark (7 E’s) and Dominguez (23 E’s) are big guys who have had issues on the corners. Haynes and Wright have good speed in the OF.
Double Plays – 58 (29). Solid middle infield is helped by playing on field turf.
Stolen Base Attempts – 40-57 against Arnold.
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 35, very good at blocking pitches.
Pitching
ERA – 4.14 (19)
BA – .290
HR – 57
H’s/9 IP – 8.9 (18)
BB’s/9 IP – 2.8 (14)
K’s/9 IP – 8.2 (32)
Starting Pitchers
JR Justin Marks (LHP – 11-2, 3.40 ERA, 17 apps, 15 starts, 1 save, 101 IP, 79 H, 32 BB, 125 K, .218 BA, 5 HR, 9 HBP, 2 WP). Big East Conf pitcher of the year. Projected to go in the first 3-4 rounds of the draft next week. School career leader in wins and strikeouts. Has a low 90’s fastball, curveball, slider and changeup and solid command of each. 8th in the country in K’s. 1.99 ERA in his last 23 IP with 31 K’s. 10-18 SB’s. Has picked off two runners.
Soph Dean Keikhefer (LHP – 6-4, 4.56 ERA, 17 apps, 12 starts, 73 IP, 87 H, 21 BB, 60 K, .300 BA, 3 HR, 13 HBP, 5 WP). Has been effective lately and allowed 3 R or less in each of his last three starts (3.05 ERA) against South Florida, Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee State in the regional. Leads the staff in HBP’s. 5-7 SB’s.
Soph Bob Revesz (LHP – 4-2, 4.48 ERA, 22 apps, 9 starts, 1 save, 60 IP, 73 H, 12 BB, 28 K, .300 BA, 4 HR, 4 HBP, 4 WP). Groundball pitcher who doesn’t throw hard and benefits from pitching his home games on the field turf. Has not gotten out of the fifth inning in four of his last five starts and could be replaced this weekend. 5-10 SB’s.
FR Tony Zych (RHP – 6-2, 3.25 ERA, 21 apps, 3 starts, 2 saves, 44 IP, 38 H, 10 BB, 31 K, .235 BA, 8 HR, 8 HBP, 4 WP). Midweek SP who has been very effective in two post-season starts – 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R allowed against UConn in the Big East tournament championship game and 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R against Vanderbilt in the regional clinching game. One of the harder throwers on the staff. Has had trouble with leaving the ball up and leads the staff in HR’s. 3-5 SB’s.
Relief Pitchers
Soph Gabriel Shaw (RHP – 3-1, 3.78 ERA, 28 apps, 3 saves, 50 IP, 46 H, 12 BB, 46 K, .245 BA, 7 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP). Part of a closer by committee, with all three saves coming in the last four weeks. Hard thrower and sometimes leaves the ball up and is 2nd on the staff in HR’s allowed.
FR Derek Self (RHP – 7-0, 3.25 ERA, 21 apps, 2 starts, 1 save, 44 IP, 42 H, 13 BB, 34 K, .249 BA, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 1 WP). Has been part of the committee finishing games. Able to throw several innings (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R against MTSU in the regional and 6 IP, 2 R against Cincinnati in the Big East tournament).
SR Gavin Logsdon (LHP – 2-0, 4.24 ERA, 28 apps, 1 save, 34 IP, 39 H, 9 BB, 30 K, .285 BA, 3 HR, 2 HBP, 1 WP).
Soph Neil Holland (RHP – 0-0, 3.68 ERA, 15 apps, 1 start, 1 save, 22 IP, 24 H, 10 BB, 24 K, .289 BA, 2 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP).
Soph Tyler Mathis (RHP – 1-3, 5.28 ERA, 13 apps, 2 starts, 29 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 28 K, .215 BA, 1 HR, 11 HBP, 1 WP).
Monday, June 1, 2009
Titans Sweep Regionals
FULLERTON REGIONAL: TITANS 16, UTAH 3
By Don Hudson
The Cal State Fullerton Titans did what they needed to do last night at Goodwin Field, defeating the Utah Utes, 16-3, to clinch their Regional championship. With the win, the Titans advance to Super Regional action against the winner of Monday's Vanderbilt vs. Louisville match-up.
The designated visiting team, Fullerton, put Streich on the ropes immediately. Christian Colon led off with a walk and Gary Brown bounced a single through the left side of the infield. Third batter Josh Fellhauer surprised the Utes with a perfect drag bunt past the pitcher to load the bases with nobody out. Jared Clark then smashed a groundball that 3B Nick Kuroczko fielded within a few feet of the bag, stepped on third for the force-out and threw to second base. The second-baseman took the throw for the force-out that made it a run-scoring double-play, but he did not attempt a throw to first for an around-the-horn triple play. 
The Titans took advantage of a Utah error in building on their lead in the top of the third. Christian Colon singled and advanced to third base on a throwing error on an attempted force-out following Brown's groundball to the first-baseman. After Brown stole second uncontested, Fellhauer banged a base-hit into right-centerfield scoring both runners. Felly was gunned out at second on a great throw from CF Cooper Blanc, but his hit gave the Titans some breathing room at 3-0. (Click to enlarge this pic: it is a great look at a tag-out.)
After another scoreless frame by Pill, Khris Davis got the Titans going in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run. After Dustin Garneau walked, DH Shevis Shima pushed a perfect bunt for a base hit. After a Joe Scott sacrifice advanced both runners, Joey Siddons rammed a base hit up the middle through a drawn-in infield to make it 6-0. Siddons stole third and scored on Brown's double.
Pill went eight solid innings in earning the win. After pitching a couple complete games earlier in the season, he had much shorter outings in recent starts against Cal Poly, UCLA, Pepperdine and Long Beach State, so I'm guessing he stayed in despite the lopsided score in order to "stretch him out" for upcoming action. Pill allowed seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out nine and allowing no walks or hit batters.
It is going to take much better teams than faced this weekend to beat the Titans. There was something to like about each of the other teams - Georgia Southern's hitting, Gonzaga's defense and Utah's spunk - but none were complete enough to give the Titans a real challenge.
Congratulations to senior Dustin Garneau for being named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player and to the seven Titans named to the All-regional team:
Those are all just numbers that won't mean a hill of beans later in the tournament against higher caliber teams. But the one thing the team can always control is attitude, hustle and teamwork. Those things were on display in abundance all weekend. I always enjoy getting the opinion of seasoned baseball observers that don't see the Titans very often and are more objective than me and probably you. My buddy "Tempe Tim" was in town this weekend and the things that stood out to him the most were the hustle and executing the fundamentals. Perhaps the play that stands out the most in his mind was Friday night when the Titans were leading by two touchdowns, yet RF Gary Brown was still diving face-first onto the warning track in pursuit of a foul ball.
By Don Hudson
The Cal State Fullerton Titans did what they needed to do last night at Goodwin Field, defeating the Utah Utes, 16-3, to clinch their Regional championship. With the win, the Titans advance to Super Regional action against the winner of Monday's Vanderbilt vs. Louisville match-up.
Khris Davis led the 21-hit attack with three hits - including two home runs - and Tyler Pill (11-3) went eight strong innings in recording the victory.
The Utes earned the right to play a rematch with CSUF after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 9-7, in the afternoon's elimination game. The double-elimination format, with Utah playing their fourth game in three days, left their pitching cupboard bare, so they selected "crafty" lefthander Steven Streich, making his first career start.
The designated visiting team, Fullerton, put Streich on the ropes immediately. Christian Colon led off with a walk and Gary Brown bounced a single through the left side of the infield. Third batter Josh Fellhauer surprised the Utes with a perfect drag bunt past the pitcher to load the bases with nobody out. Jared Clark then smashed a groundball that 3B Nick Kuroczko fielded within a few feet of the bag, stepped on third for the force-out and threw to second base. The second-baseman took the throw for the force-out that made it a run-scoring double-play, but he did not attempt a throw to first for an around-the-horn triple play. Hope sprung brightly for the Utes when Streich posted a zero in the top of the Fullerton second inning - equalling the number of goose-eggs the Utah pitching staff managed Friday night against the Titans. But Pill was more than equal to the task of maintaining his team's slim 1-0 advantage.
The Titans took advantage of a Utah error in building on their lead in the top of the third. Christian Colon singled and advanced to third base on a throwing error on an attempted force-out following Brown's groundball to the first-baseman. After Brown stole second uncontested, Fellhauer banged a base-hit into right-centerfield scoring both runners. Felly was gunned out at second on a great throw from CF Cooper Blanc, but his hit gave the Titans some breathing room at 3-0. (Click to enlarge this pic: it is a great look at a tag-out.)
After another scoreless frame by Pill, Khris Davis got the Titans going in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run. After Dustin Garneau walked, DH Shevis Shima pushed a perfect bunt for a base hit. After a Joe Scott sacrifice advanced both runners, Joey Siddons rammed a base hit up the middle through a drawn-in infield to make it 6-0. Siddons stole third and scored on Brown's double.Utah's C.J. Cron hit a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to make it 8-1, but the Utes never got closer. Fellhauer led off the fifth with his third consecutive single and raced around to score on Jared Clark's double. Streich was replaced by reliever Robert Chimpky, who was unable to get the monkey off the back of the Utah pitching staff. Clark went to third on Davis' infield single and scored on Garneau's sacrifice fly. Davis later scored on a wild pitch. Scott got the rally recharged with a double deep to leftfield and scored on an RBI single by Siddons. Perhaps the best indicator of how well this game was going for Utah was when the count to Colon reached 3-2 with two outs and the first-baseman moved away from the base. Chimpky made a perfect pickoff throw to first - but the only people anywhere near it were Colon and the umpire and neither of them had a glove. Siddons advanced to second on the error and scored the fifth run of the inning when Colon singled to make it 12-1.
From that point on, both coaches substituted liberally. Khris Davis homered again in the eighth inning - his second of the game and fourth in three games.
Pill went eight solid innings in earning the win. After pitching a couple complete games earlier in the season, he had much shorter outings in recent starts against Cal Poly, UCLA, Pepperdine and Long Beach State, so I'm guessing he stayed in despite the lopsided score in order to "stretch him out" for upcoming action. Pill allowed seven hits and two earned runs, while striking out nine and allowing no walks or hit batters.Colin O'Connell pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close it out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
So what did we learn this weekend?
It is going to take much better teams than faced this weekend to beat the Titans. There was something to like about each of the other teams - Georgia Southern's hitting, Gonzaga's defense and Utah's spunk - but none were complete enough to give the Titans a real challenge. 
Congratulations to senior Dustin Garneau for being named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player and to the seven Titans named to the All-regional team:- Dustin Garneau (.583 average led team, three RBI, six runs scored, 5-for-5 performance in the winners bracket finale, no stolen bases allowed and enough kick saves to win the Vezina Trophy)
- Jared Clark (.500 average, three doubles, 4 RBI and more scoops than Baskin-Robbins on a summer day)
- Joey Siddons (.500 average, seven RBI, three multi-hit games, stellar defense at 3B)
- Khris Davis (.467 average, four home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored)
- Gary Brown (.467 average, three doubles, two stolen bases)
- Tyler Pill (1-0, 2.25 ERA, nine strikeouts, won Regional clincher)
- Noe Ramirez (1-0, 2.57 ERA, eight strikeouts)
The Titans led the Regional in most significant team and individual statistical categories. Just some of the highlights:
- Batted .476 as team and scored 41 runs in three games
- Khris Davis led all players in home runs, RBI and runs scored (tied).
- Best team ERA: 2.33. (Gonzaga was second at 8.44.)
- Brown and Clark were co-leaders in doubles with three each, while Scott was a co-leader in triples with two. (While paling, perhaps, to Davis' 1.267, Scott had a 1.000 slugging percentage this weekend.)
Those are all just numbers that won't mean a hill of beans later in the tournament against higher caliber teams. But the one thing the team can always control is attitude, hustle and teamwork. Those things were on display in abundance all weekend. I always enjoy getting the opinion of seasoned baseball observers that don't see the Titans very often and are more objective than me and probably you. My buddy "Tempe Tim" was in town this weekend and the things that stood out to him the most were the hustle and executing the fundamentals. Perhaps the play that stands out the most in his mind was Friday night when the Titans were leading by two touchdowns, yet RF Gary Brown was still diving face-first onto the warning track in pursuit of a foul ball. Lastly, congratulations to Coach Dave Serrano (shown here intensely scouting his upcoming opponent) for his 200th career victory as a head coach in Division I baseball.
I'm sure the personal milestone last night meant far less to him than the team's accomplishment of winning the Regionals.
I'm sure the personal milestone last night meant far less to him than the team's accomplishment of winning the Regionals. Good luck to the Titans next weekend in what should be a very competitive Super Regional best-of-three series. We're just two wins away from the enxt step in the journey: "First to Practice, Last to Play."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)